Previews

Metal Gear Solid 4

Spiffy:

New bosses; interesting twist; more Metal Gear Solid 4.

Iffy:

Online specifics unclear; how many bosses?

At today's Metal Gear Solid 4 press conference, we got another look at the gameplay demo that Kojima Productions originally showed off in Tokyo earlier this summer. And we even got a few interesting tidbits from the Q&A afterwards. But the most interesting part of this personal appearance by Kojima himself was the big reveal of the bosses we'll be facing in Metal Gear Solid 4.

"What transforms a snake... into beasts?"

Before he launched his bosses video and told us about MGS4's elite squad of level-bookends, Kojima mused on what makes Metal Gear Solid so special. Although he tried to make it sound like a happy papa on his child's 20th birthday, we all knew something sneaky was incoming.

Without a translator, Kojima asked the packed room what it is about MGS that has made the series so iconic. "A cool world filled with humor and intelligence," perhaps? Or a "touching movie-like storyline?" He even mentioned the high-tech stealth action gameplay. But with a firm "No!" he shot all those choices down. The bosses, he claims, make Metal Gear Solid what it is. A brief trailer of the bosses through the games so far helped prove his point.

Going over the forces we've fought so far, Kojima showed how each successive unit was even more ferocious and deadly than the last. Metal Gear Solid's bosses were members of a Special Forces squad, but Metal Gear Solid 2's bosses were not just special forces but elite counter-terrorism troops inspired by super heroes and their powers. Ahhh, Dead Cell.

With Metal Gear Solid 3, the unit you fought "topped them all." Although Kojima was referring to the units' backstories, there's no denying that by Metal Gear Solid 3 Kojima Productions had nailed the art of the boss battle. With Metal Gear Solid 4, you'll be facing the unit that Kojima believes is his and his team's best yet. The beauty and the beast.